A: The first step in backing up your database is to know your installation type.  If you are unsure of what kind of FASTT Math installation you are currently using, please consult the following FAQ.

Backing up a Single-Computer database
On Windows, use My Computer to navigate to the Tom Snyder Applications folder.  The default path for this folder is C:\Program Files\Tom Snyder Applications.  Within the Tom Snyder Applications folder you will find the databases folder.  Copy the databases folder and paste it to a safe location for storage.
On Macintosh workstations, navigate to the Tom Snyder Applications folder.  By default, this folder will be located in your Applications folder.  Copy the databases folder and paste it to a safe location for storage.

Backing up a Small Network database
To back up the database of a small network installation, you simply need to copy the databases folder from the Tom Snyder Applications folder on your server, and paste it to a safe location for storage.

Backing up a Large Network database

1. To manually back up a large network database you first need to stop the Tom Snyder Server service.  This should only be done when you are certain that nobody has FASTT Math open on any of the connected workstations.
2. Once the Tom Snyder Server has stopped, navigate to the TomSnyderServer folder on your server, copy the databases folder and paste it to a safe location for storage.  (Note that “databases” is only the default name for a large network database.  Your school may have assigned a different name to your database, such as the school’s name.)
3. After you have manually backed up your database, restart the Tom Snyder Server to restore the service.

The Tom Snyder Server can also be configured to automatically create backup copies on a schedule.  This method has obvious advantages, however, you will need to contact Tom Snyder Productions Technical Support for assistance with restoring your backup file to the Tom Snyder Server.   Below are the steps for configuring the Tom Snyder Server to make automatic backups of your database(s) .

Step 1: In the TomSnyderServer folder, edit the ctsrvr.cfg file to include the following line:
DUMP dumpscript.txt
Step 2: Using the example provided below, create a text file called “dumpscript.txt” and place this in the TomSnyderServer folder.  The following example of “dumpscript.txt” will backup your database(s) to a file named “TomSnyderBackup.bak” every day at 11 pm.

!DELAY 30
!TIME 23:00:00
!FREQ 24
!DUMP TomSnyderBackup.bak
!RECURSE YES
!DELETE
!REDIRECT "" temp/
!FILES
CTSTATUS.FCS
FAIRCOM.FCS
*.dat
*.idx
*.fsd
*.fdd
!END

To change the time of the backup enter the new time after !TIME in 24 hour format hh:mm:ss
To change the location of the backup file enter a path and file name after !DUMP.
!DUMP ../TomSnyderBackup.bak will place the file in the folder containing TomSnyderServer.
Step 3: The Tom Snyder Server service will need to be restarted before the backups begin.